The Swifts and The 13 Holy Soldiers

Reminders of what it means to be a Jew.

As I stood at the Kotel last Shabbat morning, I noticed an awesome sight. Throughout the prayers, a group of fascinating birds were wheeling and dipping above our heads as if they were on some kind of ornithological whirlwind tour of the airwaves surrounding the Temple Mount.

Why should these particular birds have the privilege of coming close to the Holy Temple?

They were swifts, and on Sunday I did a quick Web search to discover the following information:

"…Like flying anchors, these birds have greater mastery of the air than any other bird. Swifts drink, bathe, preen, and collect food and nesting material all without alighting. The night is spent on the wing and they are the only bird known to mate on the wing… Swifts are the most rapid fliers known among living creatures and the most aerial of birds… Unlike swallows and martins, the swift never lands on ground or perches on wires, and indeed spends almost all it's life on the wing…"

It became obvious. Swifts are spiritual birds, almost always soaring in the heavens; their physical needs raised to an aerial level, and always keeping a distance from the earthly. They are constantly moving, growing, working, flying, hardly resting for a minute. If birds had religions, swifts would definitely be Jewish! That Shabbat morning they too obviously needed to recharge their spiritual batteries…

The Candy

After eating lunch with my children, I decided to override the normal limitations on sugar allocation, and with consummate paternal affection, I offered each amazed child a small candy. "Why, Abba?" my four-year-old, Ariel, asks.

"Because I love you," I responded (always a winning answer by the way.) His face broke into a big smile and he munched away, probably planning tomorrow's strategy of asking Abba whether he loves him and then following up with a request for candy!

That was beautiful, but then I experienced a moment of real holiness. I asked my six-year old, Shachar, whether he wanted a candy, and without hesitation he said: "But Abba, I had one today already."

Now he could easily have said "yes please" and his Abba would have been none the wiser. But from somewhere in his little conscience came the voice of Truth, the mastery of self-control, the glory of subjugating powerful physical desires to a greater, spiritual purpose. This is the same child who can decide he's going to preschool in shorts and sandals in the middle of winter, in innocent, independent defiance of any parental wisdom.

Oh how closely must we observe our children, how sensitive must we be to their every word. Oh how much have we to learn from them…we are nourished from their unbounded energy and naive purity.

13 Holy Soldiers

And then there was Gaza. No swifts wheeling freely in the air. No four-year-olds smiling on the ground. Explosion. Blood, skin, and bones. And silence. 13 holy soldiers.

Holier than me; holier than you. They were prepared to give their lives for you and for me; for the Jewish people, for the Land of Israel. 13 holy soldiers.

One of the holy soldiers, Ya'akov, grew up in war-struck Yugoslavia. His friend, Ma'ayan, recalled, "The civil war was very hard for him. He lived in uncertainty, fear and hunger. In spite of the hardships, he took care of his mother, who was a Holocaust survivor, and his sister. He risked his life many times when he swam across the river to bring food home. That was the kind of person he was, responsible and dedicated".

Ya'akov, who lost his father at a young age, made aliyah two years ago. "He loved Judaism and Israel, and since he was 16 he read and knew everything there is to know…"

Being a Jew is about living a life of swifts, raising the physical to a spiritual plane. Being a Jew is about admitting you've already had a candy, of the spiritual controlling the physical. And being a Jew is about being prepared to live and die for something eminently greater than either swifts or candies.

No more candies for you holy soldiers. Go fly with the swifts, come to the Kotel, and please, please holy soldiers, carry our prayers on your wings.

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About the Author

Danny Verbov specializes in writing and producing beautifully crafted legacy books, transmitting a family's history, values and messages to their future generations. Contact him at dverbov@014.net.il or through his Facebook page.

Visitor Comments: 8

(8)
II-Neutron,
July 15, 2009 6:47 AM

Sigh

The truth is so simply majestic! I have met a good part of myself in your writing, truly inspired.
It is so nice to see my brothers sharing a knowledge that is not forbidden to us.
Praise be to The Lord God Almighty

(7)
virginia,
June 19, 2004 12:00 AM

This is a sublime story!

My bird book says that Swifts fly continuously in the daytime except during heavy rain. In Colorado we have the White throated Swifts and I want to make a point to find and observe them.
I agree with thie dear author that children can be so in touch in a spiritual way and we can learn from them as well as nature about us. Thank Yo and God bless Jerusalem with Peace.

(6)
Soroh Riba,
May 30, 2004 12:00 AM

The selfe sacrafice of these men will forever be engraved in my heart. Thirteen pure neshamos, who died al kiddush Hashem. We owe our very lives to these men.

(5)
Ron Fink,
May 19, 2004 12:00 AM

13 Holy Soldiers

In the Gematria of the Hebrew language, the number 13 is the number of Ahava (LOVE) and Shema (HEAR).
We are grateful for the love of these sons of Israel, who loved us enough to lay down their lives, and we should HEAR, what the message of the swifts would speak to our hearts.

Thank you for writing this soul-stirring and timely message.

(4)
Anonymous,
May 18, 2004 12:00 AM

Just Beautiful!

This was the most beautiful and inspiring essat I have ever read.I was brought to tears. It truely did the memory of the 13 Holy Soldiers justice. May their blood and the blood of all those who were murdered by the Palestinians be avenged.

That's what being a Jew is all about. Hardships. Responsibility. Dedication. Loving Judaism. Loving Israel. Reading. Knowing .... God our Father along with everything else, but He has to come first and foremost. We do nothing in our own strength but His.

Thank you for your eulogy for the young soldiers and may the now be with our Lord God.

Regards.... Daphne

(1)
Yossi Coyne,
May 16, 2004 12:00 AM

Making the ultimate commitment

Even though life is neither fair nor just, but making a commitment to be a better Jew, father or personal sacrafice will enhance our lives much more than to worry about fairness.